Torrevieja Wants To Be Europe's First Crypto Friendly City

Torrevieja, a tourism center in Alicante province, Spain, let shops in its city accept cryptocurrencies. (photo: x @JulbyJuli)

JAKARTA - Torrevieja, a tourism center in the province of Alicante, Spain, with a population of 82,000 people, intends to become Europe's "first crypto-friendly city." This is done by allowing shops in its city to accept cryptocurrencies.

On February 6, the official website of the Torrevieja Administration announced "an ambitious digital transformation project" of the city, a collaboration between the Torrevieja City Council Commerce Department and the Torrevieja Small and Medium Traders Association (APYMECO).

To turn Torrevieja into Europe's first "crypto lecture" city, the Department of Commerce and APYMECO will digitize local trade using blockchain technology.

The first phase of the transformation will "focus on promoting trade" through the use of cryptocurrencies as medium of transaction. This will seek to allow customers to pay for products and services with cryptocurrencies and "other crypto assets."

In two other phases, the city will try to restore "natural space" and promote creating new jobs and funding for companies in the tech sector.

Torrevieja's Head of Commerce Council, Rosario Mart Mariez Chazarra, expressed his hope that these measures would create incentives for crypto owners and show that Alicante University would even launch a special course on digital payments for local businesses.

APYMECO president Jorge Almarcha stressed that "in Spain, since 2015, it has been legitimate to pay cryptocurrencies," but there is no attempt to democratize digital payments.

Neither Bitcoin nor other cryptocurrencies have legal money status in Spain. However, the country remains relatively open to the crypto industry. The number of officially registered crypto companies operating in Spain grew by about 56% in 2023. The country ranks fourth globally after the United States, Canada, and Australia in the number of Bitcoin ATMs with 309 engines.

The Spanish government has also paid attention to the collection of taxes from crypto owners. Even residents who own crypto assets on non-Spanish platforms must declare them before March 31 based on a new law that regulates taxation of virtual assets.